Spring booster



Sept. 15, 1959 L. JOSEPH 2,904,329

SPRING BOOSTER Filed Sept. 1, 1954 M6- /ZZ INVENTOR.

L J 22 OUIS OSEPH '7 .7 W5 7 ATTORNEV United States Patent I 2,904,329 4 SPRING BOOSTER LonisJeseih, Brooklyn, NY. Application September 1, 1954, Serial No. 453,572 4- mins; or. ari -'33 This invention relates to a spring booster and more partienlarlyte a separating block that may be inserted between the coils of a. spring to assist the coil spring in providing its original formation. I

' ith the use of coil springs in the sup'portof an automobile onits running gear and particularly in the front end suspension, there is a tendency for the coil springs to rise their original set and as the spring tends to close, reducingthe distance Between coils due to the continuous loading on the spring, the spring does not provide the roper riding action originally intended. Instead of replacing the springs there is a temporary means of restoring the "pring'to its original formation. This is a type of separf g block that may be inserted between coils of the spring by first spreading the coils to thus restore the coils to their proper formation. It is apparent that the sjo-called booster blocks must have certain characteristics to makethem etfi ien't in use. They are commonly formed of a solid rubber thus providin a good gripping action and some resiliency to the action of the coils. However, the rubber blocks, althougliresilient, tend to deform under a continuous load; it being a roperty of the rubber to err-trade into a di'ife'rent" formation under load rather than to be compressed;- and thus the coils again loose their original setting. Another type of booster sleek new is a solid metal block. This type of block does provide a proper separation=of the coils when it is mountedlbetween coils, but since the metal has no resiliency the block tends to'slip and will not Work with thef'coils during-normal working of the spring. An eX- trenie loading of the coil and a rebound can provide enough clearance between coils to allow the solid metal block to slip out of its mounted position.

It is an object of this invention to provide a booster separating block for coil springs that will retain the coils a predetermined distance apart yet will provide a certain amount of resiliency.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a combination metal and rubber booster separating block for coil springs that will retain the coils a predetermined distance apart yet will provide a certain amount of resiliency.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a booster separating block comprised of a pair of metal coil gripping elements with a resilient separating member between said elements that will retain the coils a predetermined distance apart yet will provide a certain amount of resiliency.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a booster separating block comprised of a solid metal block that is coated with a rubber material that will retain the coils a predetermined distance apart yet will provide a certain amount of resiliency.

It is another object of this invention to provide a booster separating block comprised of an H-shaped metal element with a pair of rubber cushioning elements mounted either side of the center bar of the H in which the rubber elements are notched out with a U shape to thee provide the gripping portion for the coils of the spring to thus retain the coils a predetermineddistance apart yet will provide a certain amount of resiliency.

Other objects of this invention may be apparent by reference to the accompanying detailed description and the drawings in which Fig. l is an elevational view of a coil spring with booster insert;

Fig; 2 is a cross-sectional view of a booster insert taken on line 22 of Fig. 1. A

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

, Fig. '4 is a cross-sectional view taken on, line 4-4of Fig; 1 showing a further embodiment of the booster insert; 7

Fig. 5 is a c'ross sectional view taken on line 5 5 of Fi'g.. 4;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a booster insert showing a further embodiment, and

Fig, 7 is a cross-sectional View taken on lin'7=-'l of Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawing and particularly to Fig. 1; it is apparent that with a coil spfin'g ltl'such as that utilized in the front supporting and of an automobile, the coil spring 10, when installed, is preformed to retaineda .c'e'rtain load and provide good riding characteristics of the automobile. The coil spring 10 will, under" continued use, due to the fatigue of the metal, loose someof its original set, the tendency being for the length of the coil spring to be reduced under continuous load and; of'cours'e; as this coil is reduced in its original set, there is lss'of' the riding quality provided originally. To temporarily restore spring 10 to its original form, any of the coils may be separated and; a pair of booster inserts 11 and 12, or a single insert 11" or 12, may be insertedyas illusi trated in Fig. 1, the number of inserts being used depending upon the amount of deformation existing in the spring at the'time of installating the booster insert; This invention contemplates a particular design of booster insert and is primarily con'cerried with air H=shapeti member such as illustrated in Fig. 2; in which a" metal element'14 provided with a general H shape iitilizetli In order that the H-shape'd element niay have all of'the characteristics desired for a booster in'sert there isin serted a pair of rubber gripping elements 15 mounted either side of the center web 14A of the? H; Sinbe'the H member is non-compressible, there is a definite spacing between coils by the web 14A and the gripping elements regardless of any compression or deformation of portion 15, to produce a minimum spacing. Elements 15 may be inserted to merely grip the H element by friction or they may be cemented into this position for a permanent hold. Elements 15 may be cut with a U- shaped center 17. In either instance when element 14 is mounted in the position as illustrated in Fig. 1, it is apparent that the peripheral curvature of the coil will seat within the V shape or U shape as the case may be and provide a good tight gripping relationship between the booster element and the coils of the spring 10. Referring to Fig. 3, it is apparent that although the element 14 is H-shaped in cross-section, the center bar of the H may be formed so that there is a slight curve from one end of the block to the other end, the curve being designed to follow the contour of the coil spring as it is formed thus, with the block 14 mounted as illustrated in Fig. 1, it is apparent that the coil 10 will provide an equal pressure along the entire face of each resilient element and the resilient element, in turn, will provide an equal pressure along the surface of the center bar of the H.

It is further apparent that the resilient elements 15 provide a good gripping relationship with the coils of the spring 10, yet due to their retained mounting within the H element, they cannot be deformed to a suflicient degree to alter the actual dividing distance between the coils of the spring after the booster element 14 has been mounted as illustrated in Fig. 1.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, it is apparent that the booster insert may be constructed entirely of metal. In Fig. 4, the booster insert 14A is constructed of metal and the U-shaped spring gripping portions 17A may be coated with rubber to provide a good gripping action with the coils of spring as illustrated in Fig. 1. The booster insert 14A may be entirely coated with rubber as a pro tective coating but a heavy coating of rubber should be provided within the areas 17A. It is apparent, referring to Fig. 5, that insert 14A is shaped and curved so that the curvature of the spring coil will permit the insert 14A to have a complete gripping operation from one end to the other and to retain a predetermined spring separation throughout the area of the insert 14A.

Referring to Figs. 6 and 7 in which a further embodiment of the booster insert is illustrated, the booster insert 148 may be constructed with a pair of metal gripping elements 20 and 21 which are formed with U-shaped areas 17B and elements 20 and 21 are separated by a resilient block, such as rubber, 22. Elements 20 and 21 may be vulcanized to block 22 or cemented to block 22 to provide a solid bond therewith. Areas 1713 may or may not be coated with rubber, as described above, although the preference is to provide a rubber coating for gripping the coil spring. In Fig. 7, which is a crosssectional view of Fig. 6, it is apparent that the base web of elements 20 and 21 is straight rather than curved, according to the prior embodiments, as in this instance elements 20 and 21 provide a sufficient gripping relation with the coils of the spring as illustrated in Fig. 1 and there is sufficient resiliency between elements 20 and 21 to retain these elements in their gripped relationship and the rubber block 22 is a small cross-sectional area so that there can be little deformation of the booster block, and thus the block will retain the coils of the spring a predetermined distance apart when the block has been mounted between coils of the spring.

Various changes may be made to the formation of the booster block, that is, although the block 14, 14A has been described as generally H-shaped and the composite block 14B as generally H-shaped, it may be X-shaped without departing from the spirit of this invention. Likewise although the blocks 14 and 14A have been illustrated as generally square, they may be rectangular to provide a wedge of greater length. Although the H block has been described as provided with resilient inserts, the inserts may be practically rigid, as long as a good gripping relation is provided without departing from the spirit of this invention. The open ends of the H block have been provided with rubber cushioning and gripping elements in one embodiment of this invention and the open ends have been coated with rubber in another embodiment of this invention. A still further embodiment may be provided by forming a rough gripping surface along the half round portions of the metal faces of the block. This invention is not limited to the use of metal and rubber in combination, but the rigid blocks may be of any other acceptable material combined with any resilient element to provide the same function as that described herein without departing from the spirit of this invention and this invention shall be limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. The combination with a coil spring of a booster separating insert interposed between adjacent convolutions of the spring and extending along a small portion only of the length of said convolutions, said insert being of a non-compressible material and generally H shaped, the open ends of said H insert provided with rubber gripping elements either side of the web of the H insert, the minimum thickness of the combined web and rubber gripping elements at their center being slightly greater than the normal space between the convolutions of the spring to provide a spreading action on said spring.

2. In a device according to claim 1 in which said rubber gripping elements are cemented to the open end portions of said H insert to become integral therewith.

3. In a device according to claim 1 in which the faces of the booster insert that contact the coil spring are curved to match the contour of the spring and in which the separating area of the booster insert that fits between the convolutions of the spring is pitched to match the pitch of the coil spring.

4. In a device according to claim 1 in which said insert is elongated to provide a fairly long area of contact with the convolutions of said spring wire.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,094,569 Dwyer Sept. 28, 1937 2,230,340 Shreffler Feb. 4, 1941 2,673,084 Blythe Mar. 23, 1954 2,801,841 Blythe Aug. 6, 1957 

